I am glad we did this cruise because I was anxious to see the Venezia. Overall we had a good cruise, but I would not do the Venezia again due to the theatre problems (I am a retired dancer/choreographer/director and my husband is a musician and a techie so the theatre and music of the cruise is important to us).
Embarkation
5 out of 5
We had a boarding time of 10:30-11:00 and arrived at the port about 10:45. We literally only waited in a short line for about 10 minutes as the dogs sniffed everyone's luggage. Then we flew through the registration and walked on the ship.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
3 out of 5
The main dining room meals were okay but I think the quality there has gone downhill from our last cruise on Carnival in January. We ate at 2 specialty restaurants, Steakhouse and Tappanyaki - both were excellent! Lunch choices were good. Service from the crew was always excellent. Drinks were okay to good.
Onboard Activities
3 out of 5
There were none-stop trivia games and comedy shows as well as "informational" activities from the Spa, the Shops and many Art Auctions. All the usual Carnival activities which we rarely attend, maybe a trivia but none of the others. That is our choice but many others seemed to enjoy them.
Entertainment
5 out of 5
We love production shows and there were 3. We enjoyed the new show, "Color Our World" because the choreography was excellent, performers were excellent and the scenery and costumes were spectacular. "Epic Rock" is always good. "Vintage Pop" was the best the with live musicians onstage and wonderful performances by the cast of the excellent choreography. The Rock Band was the best of the music -we were there every night with this talented band including trombone and sax and led by the singers, Brandon and Shelby. We usually spend a lot of time in the Piano Bar but on this ship it was a very small venue for 4000+ passengers and we never could make it inside. Kiara, the solo singer/guitarist was wonderful as usual (we have heard her on other Carnival Cruises). They should always give her a better venue than the Atrium where there is little seating. We loved seeing her in the Gondola Club.
Children's Programs
We don't travel with children. Cheers to Carnival for their Children's Program as we hardly saw any children all week.
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
Services was excellent. The staff is hardworking and always friendly and efficient.
Ship Quality
4 out of 5
The ship was always clean. My biggest complaints come in the design. The Teatro (main theater) is horrible. It is beautiful but obviously designed by someone with no knowledge of theater basics. This theater had the worst sightlines. People would search on the second level to find any seat where you did not have a thick pillar in from of you blocking the stage, or having a wooden rail from the balcony barrier ruining you view (the barrier was clear but the rail at the top caused you to have a horizontal blockage). also, the best seats on the second level would be center, but they have next to no seats there.
There are many outside seating areas that would be wonderful for warm destinations, but the wind and chill made them unusable most of the cruise and there are practically no seating areas inside with a sea view. And then there is the 3rd deck where the restaurant keeps you from walking through so you have to go up a deck or down a deck to get to activities on the other end of the ship.
However, I loved the "Italian" touches. The ship is really beautiful.
Cabin / Stateroom
5 out of 5
The cabin was great - bed very comfortable, bathrooms well appointed and lovely(yes we had 2 bathrooms, main one with a lovely glass shower door, and the other with a small bathtub/shower and sink). The drapes tied back and fabric was very nice.
Ship tip
Bring an extension cord as there is only 2 outlets on the vanity/desk.
I spent 4 years on Long Island and spent a lot of time in Manhattan. Been there and don that. I probably will not do another cruise out of NYC unless it leaves from the p[ort in Brooklyn. We took Amtrak to the city from NC. Amtrak is dairly close to the cruise terminal. We stayed overnight at the Hyatt Times Square (almost $400 for the night). The room was smaller than our cabin with a beautiful view of the brick wall in the center of the building. The city smelled bad the whole time we were there. Everything cost a fortune - food and cabs (we used Lyft and they were expensive on our first trip because our driver went to the wrong pickup area and they charged us extra for waiting. But then Cabs wanted $30 to go the short distance between Amtrak and the Hyatt, and $50 from the Hyatt to the port.
It was quick and easy, but then we had to drag all our bags across 9th Avenue with all the traffic to wait on a corner as we called a lyft and they arrived. I am 78 and dragging that heavy luggage for that distance in traffic was not easy.
I am a bit confused...u said in your review you are an ex dancer,choreographer and said you "WOULD NOT DO VENEZIA AGAIN" yet you GAVE Raving stars for ENTERTAINMENT....we're u on the Venezia or other ship?
Glad you mostly liked the cruise. I totally agree that the theater design is horrible. I can’t imagine how an architect could get it so wrong. The flat floor on the ground level seats along with a very low stage make for hard to view shows. In the upper levels you have to look sideways because the seats don’t face the stage.
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